12. OVERSEAS ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

12.1 Overseas publications are increasingly being produced in electronic formats and the Library selectively acquires or provides access to this material where the subject matter fits within the priorities identified in the Collection Development Policy.

DEFINITIONS

12.2 Physical format electronic resources are those that are published on a physical carrier and include videos, CD-ROMs, DVDs and VCDs.

12.3 Online electronic resources are available via the Internet. They include both "born digital" material that has been produced directly online (e.g. e-journals and databases), and also digitised versions of print resources that have been scanned to create an electronic copy.

COLLECTING

Physical Format Electronic Resources

12.4 The Library collects physical format electronic publications only where these publications are not available in another format. Due to the difficulties in providing ongoing access to physical format electronic resources, print or online versions of a publication will generally be preferred.

Online Resources

12.5 Online resources are now central to the collecting strategy as these allow access to a much greater range of information than could be collected in print form and provide enhanced searching capability. In moving to a greater level of electronic access to overseas publications, the Library will build on the strengths of its existing collections and the priorities identified in the Collection Development Policy. See also references under specific subjects (see paras 13.8, 15.26, 15.47, 15.60, 16.2)

12.6 The Library subscribes to a number of commercially produced aggregator full-text resources providing access to newspapers, journal articles and other current publications in the social sciences and humanities. For example, Factiva, Academic Search Premier, and China Academic Journals. Individual online journals are also considered for acquisition on a case-by-case basis whether they are subscription or free resources.

12.7 The Library also provides access to a number of significant databases of digital reproductions of historical material from the 15th-19th centuries. For example Early English Books Online, Early American Imprints, Eighteenth Century Collections Online, and 18th-19th Century House of Commons Parliamentary Papers.

12.8 The Library selectively harvests freely available online websites from the Asia-Pacific region. These harvested websites are currently hosted on Internet Archive. Collections consist of websites archived around a theme, and are publicly accessible. Websites are selected for topical interest and research value.

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